Issue No 80 April 2008

Editorial

April Fool’s Day, over the years, lost its appeal. When we were kids, it was a time for both mirth and dread, depending on whether you were the initiator of the prank or the victim. One always looked forward to April 1st anxiously. This year, the day came and went and not a soul talked about it. Until a few years ago, even the newspapers carried a whole lot of bizarre news on the first of April, that many were innocently suckered into believing it to be the Gospel truth. Not anymore. People just don’t seem to have the appetite for such trite stuff any longer. Only cricket, movies and scandals make the news. I don’t need to talk about these, as there has already been overkill.

We are entering that phase of the year, which one looks at with mixed feelings. If you have planned a holiday, which most people do on account of the children’s holidays, it is a matter of great joy. If you are not part of that lucky bunch, then you brace yourself to get steamed, baked, fried or sautéed in the Delhi heat. I pity the people who live on the top floor of the flats, as the temperatures can be a good five degrees higher than the ground floor flats. Actually one cannot have the best of both worlds. While winter may be great for the upper floors, summers are a nightmare. Worse still, the power utilities reserve the nastiest of surprises for the summer months. When one is in deep slumber under the salubrious influence of the AC, the power will suddenly give up on you and you wake up all sweaty. This is the time of the year when underwear becomes outerwear. The mosquitoes do not need an invitation. They swarm around you and it is feasting time. Power cuts and water shortages have come to rest in our psyche as something to live with. Indians are tuned to tolerate poor service with much greater equanimity than perhaps any other community in the world. Fortunately, I am making a getaway to cooler climes with the family and hope to escape two weeks of the torrid heat between the last week of May and the first week of June. As a consequence, I will spare you the agony of perusing the May issue of the Chronicle, as there isn’t going to be one! However, important events of May will be covered in the June issue.

Cricket, cricket, cricket! It’s there all the time. In former times, cricket in India was played only in the winter months, but not anymore. The lure of lucre is so overpowering that the cricketers don’t mind going through the torture of 45 degrees temperature or more to keep the viewers glued to the seats. The money the cricketers earn is so outrageous that they do not mind putting their bodies through much stress and injury. It’s sure to shorten their shelf life. Close on the heels of the Australian series was the South African series and now the IPL tournament. I am appalled and not that enthusiastic anymore. The over reliance on cricket is killing other forms of sports and amusement.Now that even the practicals are over for the XIIth class, it is time to wait anxiously for the results to come out. In the Indian context, it is deemed to be a do or die verdict. Either it can catapult you into the stratosphere; opening up several avenues or it could land you in the pits. I do not believe in the latter. I have reasonable cause to believe that every downside throws up an opportunity. This becomes more relevant from this year, when OBC reservation is going to reduce the size of the pie. One tends to look at alternatives one could not conceive of under the blinkers of engineering and medicine. Loss for engineering is gain for commercial photography, adventure tourism, alternative healing, mall management, conservation architecture, floriculture, meteorology, city planning and many more. The list is endless. The world is your oyster; remove your blinkers, shake off your blues and look ahead. I cannot fathom why students do silly things like taking their life! That is a defeatist attitude.

SNIPPETS
Two score years and ten, sounds very poetic. That’s how the relationship of 50 long summers been between Mrs. Saroja Jagadeesan and Mr. Jagadeesan. Looking every bit as radiant with her million-dollar smile, as she may have looked as a coy bride, Mrs. Jagadeesan was thrilled at the landmark. We are 50, going on 75, seemed to be the song on her lips. In an elegant function in the badminton court on the 12th, to celebrate the achievement, most of Yamuna residents turned up. The food I gather was very good. As usual the women were sparkling in their prized baubles and fancy threads. Men obviously could not measure up. To be fair to the men, after the privileged sex is done with the shopping, there is not much left in the bank for the men to indulge in. However, if there was to be a trade-off, I would much rather see gorgeously dressed women than nattily dressed men. Reverting to the Jagadeesan’s, it was a farewell of sorts, as they are moving to Bangalore, to set up their base there. We may occasionally see them as visitors, though, as their son is going to be in Yamuna. We count ourselves fortunate to have had the Jagadeesans as our worthy neighbours all these years.

Another couple who have graced the colony with their smiling countenances, ever since Yamuna Apartments came into being, have also packed their bags for good and left. I am talking about none other than Mr.A.V.Raghupathy and his wife. Their hometown, Thrissur, in Kerala beckoned them. We will miss not only them but also the occasional visits of their children and grandchildren. The flat G-205, has now been given on rent to Mr. Krishnamurthy, who will move in from E 201.

Mr.Sudhir Dravid, of C-008 reluctantly had to answer the call of duty and move bag and baggage to Bangalore with his family. Sudhir, Swati, Nachiket and Shantanu, took to Yamuna like fish to water when they moved into this colony a couple of years ago. We wish him the very best in his new assignment.

Mr. Vinod Asthana has moved into G-203, from his last posting in Lucknow. He is an Engineer in the Marketing Department of JCB India Ltd. He has moved in with his wife, Leena and younger son, Yash, who is seeking admission to Class XI. Vinod is a keen badminton player and Leena, who does the most important job of taking care of the house, is also an avid painter. Their elder son Harsh Vardhan is pursuing a B Tech degree in IT from SRM University, Chennai. They can be reached on 40507960.

Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir,
SUB: Maintenance of Yamuna Apartments Complex

Our Society has been appreciated as one of the well-maintained societies of Delhi for many years. Off late, the upkeep of our complex is slowly slipping from the high standards we had set.
Many small but essential works as listed hereunder need to be addressed to make our colony look clean and orderly as in the past:-
1. Cleaning and scrubbing of the concrete beams on the facade of the building looks stained with soot and grime.
2. Lighting in some areas is inadequate. We have to install more lights and repair the existing ones to working condition.
3. The trunks of trees are infested with white ants, which need to be treated. Sufficient clear soil space should be provided around the roots to ensure water seeps in to keep the trees healthy.
4. Paving of car parking areas with interlock bricks to give the place a neat look. This will also be more enduring.
5. We should revive the plans for kitchen wastewater recovery, for watering the plants and the lawn in view of water scarcity.
6. Our electric pump is dependent on the DG set to pump water in case of electricity failure. We should procure a diesel engine pump to avoid such eventualities.
In addition our apartments are 30 years old and resources will be required frequently to address various electrical and civil maintenance works. Seepage is one case in point. In the above background, the decision of the Managing Committee to waive of one month’s maintenance charges is not a good step. It is an arduous task to collect funds for any unforeseen eventuality; hence the decision to forego one month’s maintenance charges in my opinion is not prudent.

Since the non-member residents of this complex cannot air their views in the Managing Committee or in the General Body, I felt duty bound to use this platform to apprise everybody of our priorities.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
G.Venkataraman
G-102, Yamuna Apartments.

Looking good in summer!

How to keep hair healthy in the heat.
As temperatures creep up and your scalp becomes oilier, you may be tempted to banish the conditioner from the shower. Turns out that’s not a good idea. In fact your hair’s more likely to dry out from the sun, swimming and more frequent washing. How do you cope without creating an oil slick?
v Condition only the ends of your hair – the oldest and most damaged part.
v Switch from a heavy conditioner to a lighter formula. Look for a mousse or foam(e.g. Dove Foaming Conditioner)which rinses completely clean.
v Use a leave-in conditioner that contains sunscreen; be sure to comb it through from roots to ends. (Health)

Soften Lips.
Revive parched, sun baked summer lips in a flash with natural everyday ingredients. Lightly dab olive oil on lips, then dip the tip of the same finger into sugar and lightly massaging the sweet exfoliant onto your mouth in a circular motion. Rinse with warm water and finish .

Don’t get creamed.
If you’re going out in the sun, doesn’t it make sense to use a sunscreen rated SPF (Sun Protection Factor) 30 or even higher? For most people, no. Sunscreens with numbers higher than 15 offer only marginally increased protection. On the other hand, sunscreens with SPFs below 15 offer inadequate protection, unless you reapply them constantly. No sunscreen guards you completely from sunburn or from other harmful effects of long exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. You need to apply a sunscreen generously and frequently, and to take other measures as well.